The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the preparation of beverages from soluble products by mixing one or more of said products with water, in particular, for the preparation of beverages using animal or vegetable milk. The invention relates more particularly to a method and apparatus for the preparation of beverages produced in machines provided with a mixer group that receives a volume of water and at least one prepared soluble product to give beverages such as cappuccino, latte macchiato, drinking chocolate and similar.
Preferred soluble products used in the method according to the invention are dehydrated milk (powdered milk) and chocolate preparations. For the purposes of the present description of the invention, the term “soluble product” refers to any product which will dissolve in water, and the term “dehydrated milk” or “powdered milk” refers to any product that is used with the function of milk for the preparation of beverages; this includes therefore both milk-based products i.e. “dairy” products, and products called “whiteners” that are not milk-based (known also as “non-dairy creamers”). Such products are generally treated so as to increase their solubility and their speed of solution in water, for instance by producing them in the form of aerated pellets.
The known apparatus for preparing and dispensing beverages mixed from soluble products comprises a mixing chamber, generally conical in shape and a mixer element—such as a rotor, for instance. The base of the mixing chamber contains a means of dispensing the beverage; the means of delivering the prepared soluble product is located above the chamber.
In some machines there are also devices to produce coffee by infusion from ground coffee: the fresh coffee thus produced is mixed in the mixer or added to the already reconstituted milk present in the final container (cup, beaker or carafe), to produce cappuccino, latte macchiato or other desired beverages.
In the field of beverage-dispensing machines there is a constant need to improve the quality of the dispensed beverage by making it more and more similar to—and even better than—the corresponding freshly prepared beverage. Research has concentrated on improving the prepared products used for the beverage—by using liquid milk or syrups, for instance, as in US2005127098—to improve the characteristics of the beverage produced. Other proposals have suggested various methods of producing an improved “milk froth”.
The aforementioned solutions have, however, the disadvantage of considerable mechanical complication of the machine: the use of liquid milk, for instance, involves the need to refrigerate the reservoir that contains it and to carry out periodic sterilization of the same to prevent contamination of the product by micro-organisms. The use of syrups also involves considerable complication of construction and maintenance.